Question vs Rorschach
The Question vs. Rorschach is a What-If? episode of Death Battle restarted by the CyberDragon001, featuring The Question from DC Comics and Rorschach from Watchmen. Description DC vs Watchman. The original faceless detective vs the popular violent anti-hero. Who is the superior palette swap? Interlude Cue Invader - Jim Johnston Wiz: Superheroes come in many shapes and sizes, whether it's a gifted prodigy, a billionaire, an alien, or even gods. Boomstick: Then there are these two faceless individuals who are so out of their depth they are considered outcasts from society, even by their fellow heroes. Wiz: Why does that remind me of a certain co-host? Boomstick: Shut up!! Wiz: The Question, the Justice League's resident Conspiracy Theorist Boomstick: And Rorschach, the violent anti-hero of the Crimebusters. Wiz: I'm Wiz and he's Boomstick and it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win, a Death Battle! The Question Cue Justice League Unlimited - Theme Song Boomstick: The Justice League of America, a team of individuals made up of many different superheroes. Ranging from the godly Superman and Wonderwomen and the "normal" Batman. Wiz: But even amongst this crowd of extraordinary beings, there were a questionable few that stood out. And no one presented that more, then the Question himself. Boomstick: I know what you're thinking, just who is the Question? Man, isn't that the Question of the hour? Wiz: Before he became the faceless vigilante, Vic Sage was born as Charles Victor Szasz and grew up as an orphan. Boomstick: Little Vic was a troublemaker around the orphanage and it was his mission to endure all the physical abuse that was thrown at him. Even when he went to a higher education, his attitude didn't change. Man and people say I have issues. Wiz: Eventually after graduating from college Victor made his mark in Hub city as an outspoken and aggressive reporter. Boomstick: Once moving on as a Tv Reporter Vic would find himself down a path that would alter his life forever, well except the whole enduring abuse part. Wiz: One day he along with his college professor, Aristotle Rodor were investigating Barby Twain, a colleague of Rodor's who had been doing some, pretty illegal dealings. Boomstick: See both of the professors created something called Pseudoderm based on the notes of Gotham City criminal Bart Magan and research of Gingold, the same chemical responsible for creating Elongated Man. Wiz: This synthetic polymer was created to be an invisible band-aid, but as perfect as it was it proved to be toxic to open wounds and the project was scrapped. Boomstick: Though willing to get something out of it and despite knowing the dangers, good old Twain was keen on selling the invention to third world countries for a huge profit. Wiz: Though there was a small problem. Vic couldn't go after the good doctor, without exposing his famous face. Boomstick: So he and his scientist buddy came up with a foolproof plan! Vic would become someone else entirely to find the incriminating evidence he needed. With a mask of the skin wizardry, Vic now had his answer! Wiz: His Pseudoderm mask would serve as a simple, yet perfect disguise making him appear faceless. He sticks this mask to his face via a special aftershave and binary gas that he releases from his belt, that also somehow changes the color of his clothes and hair, and can't be taken off by conventional means unless he reapplies the gas. Boomstick: Now looking like the Slenderman's civilized cousin, Vic set to work on bringing down the evil doctor, force a confession out of him, and leaving him just deserts. Wiz: With his first outing a success, Vic saw the potential in doing more with this new identity. Boomstick: Thus he became the literal man with no face! Cue Justice League Unlimited - Fatal Intentions and the Truth Wiz: But to the world, he was only known as The Question. With his new alter ego Vic Sage would go on to solve numerous other investigations and fight crime while occasionally teamed up with other superheroes like the second Blue Beetle and even Batman. Boomstick: And he's well built for the job, while he is skilled with firearms, he prefers his fists and supposedly for a normal human, Q is strong enough to break a man's arm with his bare hands. Wiz: Early in his career he was a sloppy if ruthless street fighter, but with some training under Richard Dragon he became skilled in martial arts specifically in the Dragon style of Kung Fu. Boomstick: But that's not the only skill he had developed, along with his journalism he is a proficient Acrobat and has knowledge in many mythologies and philosophies. He's even given the Batman villain "The Riddler" a run for his money with his own Riddles. Wiz: He is most renown for his skill as a detective which is second only to Batman, he can easily spot things out of the ordinary that others normally overlook and is more open-minded to outrageous phenomena. In fact, he is so good, even the worlds greatest detective himself implies that he is his superior. Boomstick: That's really saying something, but he is arguably better at intimidation then old bats. I mean if I walked in an alley, and all I saw was a faceless man, I would probably shit my pants. Wiz: Like Batman, The Question is also a skilled interrogator and is feared by criminals due to his ruthless tactics that normal heroes don't have the stomach for. One time he even went as far as using a chainsaw to make a killer talk. Boomstick: Forget shitting my pants Wiz, I don't think I ever want to leave the house ever again! Could you bring some beer for me? I'll love you forever. Wiz: Not going to happen Boomstick. Anyway, if that wasn't enough there's even more to this normal hero. During a particularly hard time in his career, Vic sought to learn shamanistic techniques which apply to the city. Boomstick: Oh great! Not only is this guy creepy as hell, but now he's a warlock too?! Wiz: He's more of a Street Shaman, using the very magic of the Earth itself, but wielding it in a more urban environment. With this, the city essentially speaks to him through the people, he uses this along with his detective skills to track down organizations so elusive not even the Man of Steel himself can't find. Boomstick: Holy crap! This guy sounds overpowered the more you know about him, doesn't he? Cue Justice League Unlimited - Batman Beyond Battle Wiz: Well, funny you should say that. With his shamanism, he can do other things such as talk to spirits, see the dead, look through walls, sense chi in others including Earth itself, and even manifest his chi on the spiritual plane to spy on others and interact with objects and people while his physical body is in another place. Boomstick: Well, thank you for feeding on my paranoia Wiz. Time to say goodbye to this cruel world! Wiz: Unlike my co-host here, The Question has endured a lot of ridiculous situations. Boomstick: Hey! Wiz: He's tough enough to block a swing from a baseball bat, strong enough to send someone flying into a concrete wall with enough force to crack it, fast enough to catch up to a speeding truck, and survives being pummeled from beings stronger then the average human. Boomstick: With his skill, he was able to hold his own against Lady Shiva, one of the Best Assassins in the World and one of the teachers of Batman himself, reacted quick enough to block a bullet with a meat clever, is able to dodge automatic fire, multiple times, and has the endurance to fight crime for thirty-six hours straight, without sleep! Jesus, what is up with these "normal" heroes? Are they like made of fucking iron or something? Wiz: Speaking of that despite his endurance and skill as a vigilante, The Question is not perfect. He is hardly the sanest individual, is highly paranoid, and while his detective skill is great enough to be recognized by the Justice League they tolerate him at best because of his eccentric personality and ridiculous conspiracy theories. Boomstick: Heck, even Batman of all people believes he is a bit off of his rocker. Wiz: Also while he is stronger than the average human, he still as fallible as any other mortal man. He even died once in the comics from lung cancer...only to be brought back to life as a Black Lantern. Boomstick: AKA Space Zombies!! Wiz: Regardless there is no denying that The Question is definitely not someone you want to cross if you so value your life. Boomstick: Also for a crazy faceless magical detective he really knows how to get the hottest heroine ever, second only to Black Canary of course. Hehe, score. The Question: Don't touch that! Huntress: Wow. I never knew the Girl Scouts were responsible for the crop circle phenomenon. The Question: Few people do. Few even think to ask the question. Rorschach Cue Watchmen - Unforgettable Wiz: The world of The Watchmen takes place during the contemporary period of the 80s, but with several key differences. Boomstick: The most relevant one being that superheroes are an actual thing, though they are more like glorified crime fighters as they all don't have actual superpowers. The exception is Doctor Manhattan, who doesn't know anything about pants apparently. Wiz: Though over time, superheroes became unpopular to the public and were banned, in accordance with "the Keene Act". Many of the heroes were forced to retire, with only a select few continuing their service with the United States government. Boomstick: Though in New York City, there was one hero who continued to operate outside of the jurisdiction of the law. He was known as the World's Greatest Detective, the ink-blotted masked vigilante that citizens and criminals everywhere knew as Rorschach. ''' Wiz: Before he became the humanoid version of the psychological test, he was born as Walter Joseph Kovacs in 1940. '''Boomstick: Ya get ready ladies and gentlemen, this man's life is one heck of a rollercoaster. Wiz: That's putting it mildly, Boomstick. Boomstick: Anyway, young Walter was the son of a prostitute and an unknown father so you could say he was the original bastard child. His mother would constantly abuse him, which didn't exactly help when he was also picked on by bullies because they considered him ugly and they are kinda right. ''' Wiz: One day at the age of eleven, Walter has had enough and decided to stand up to his bullies and this surprisingly resulted in him being taken away from his current living conditions and be put in an orphanage. '''Boomstick: Huh, what a coincidence! Wiz: Now out of his abusive mother's grasp and in a better setting, Walter slowly started to improve. He took up many studies including several philosophies, gymnastics, and even a little bit of boxing. After leaving the orphanage at 16 years old he got a job as a garment worker in a dress shop. Boomstick: Life started looking up for Walter until he read about the rape and subsequent murder of Kitty Genovese. This is what caused him to snap, leading him down a path that he could never stray away from. Wiz: Disillusioned with the witnesses of the murder standing by and doing nothing to prevent it, Walter not wanting any further innocents to be killed by the scum of the world wanted to take matters into his own hands. Boomstick: So Mr. Kovacs made a mask out of a certain fabric that strangely acted similarly to his namesake to serve as his true and more beautiful face, put on a trench coat along with a sick fedora, and became a new harbinger of justice. While killing a rapist in the process! Cue Watchman - Tonight The Comedian Died! Wiz: From that very strange and bloody night Walter took up the name of Rorschach, becoming a well-renowned and feared vigilante. He joined the team of superheroes called "Crimebuster" where he worked alongside his partner the second Nite Owl. Boomstick: During his early days he wasn't always the violent anti-hero he was famous for. Originally he only beats up criminals and leaves them for the Police along with a Rorschach test as his calling card. ''' Wiz: That, however, all changed. One fateful day he was investigating the disappearance of a young girl and had followed the trail to the house of a man named Gerald Grice. There he found out the unfortunate, and grizzly fate of the child. This is where his darker nature took hold. '''Boomstick: During his mental breakdown, Rorschach proceeded to kill the man's dogs, who were eating the remains of the girl and then lite the shack on fire with the murderer still inside. It's safe to say that the guy got what he deserved. Wiz: On that day Walter Kovacs died and the vigilante Rorschach was truly born. Now bounded by a strict black and white view of the world, he never compromises to evil. Boomstick: Rorschach may have no superpowers believe me he is anything, but simple. Wiz: He rarely carries any weapons on hand, but the one piece of equipment he has is a gas operated grappling gun that was designed by Nite Owl when they were still partners. This gun can be used to scale tall buildings and traverse those hard to reach places. Boomstick: Or be used as a makeshift harpoon!! Good god, now that is deadly and a bit unsettling! ''' Wiz: He is adept with firearms and using any object he gets his hands on as a weapon. He is also stronger than the average human and has great precision and timing. '''Boomstick: He is a skilled street fighter, Acrobat, has excelled in literature, mathematics, political science, and religious education, and is damn good at intimidation and detective work. He's pretty much a more realistic version of Batman if he wasn't a billionaire and was completely unstable. Wiz: Though despite his instability he has been described as an intelligent and tactically brilliant individual. Combined with that and his high tolerance for pain makes him a dangerous and unpredictable opponent. Cue Watchman - All That Is Good Boomstick: While superheroes are now illegal, that didn't stop him from doing his mission as a ruthless vigilante. He's strong enough to break a security glass door with his fists, intuitive enough to have discovered the secret compartment of The Comedian when police detectives couldn't, had a hand in killing several of the coldest individuals of the criminal underworld including a quote on quote Supervillain, and was tough enough to survive a fall from a several story building and being beaten up by several police officers and was more pissed off than hurt. Wiz: Not as impressive as the time he went to Antartica, and despite wearing nothing but his usual trench coat and street clothes showed no discomfort whatsoever. Boomstick: Wait, how cold is Antarctica? Wiz: The average temperature of the south pole is at around minus 49 degrees Celsius. In comparison, the average temperature for a home freezer is minus 14 degrees Celsius. The lowest temperature the human body can endure without protection before expiring is minus 21 degrees Celsius. Rorschach's body can handle over two times that. Boomstick: Damn, that is impressive! I have been in a freezer before and it is not fun if you stay in there for too long. Wiz: Wait...why on earth were you in the freezer? Boomstick: Ummm sciency stuff? Wiz: Suuureeee. While Rorschach is insanely intimidating and hardy, he has just as many flaws. Like his fellow heroes, he is nothing more than a mortal man with a mask. Most importantly his insanity along with his firm black and white morality and questionable tactics alienate him from society, which includes his colleagues. Boomstick: Not to mention he is just as ruthless as the very criminals he has made his personal mission to fight against, but I guess what comes around goes around. Wiz: While his refusal to compromise his views is quite admirable, this is what ultimately leads to his downfall when Doctor Manhattan was forced to kill him to keep quiet of a conspiracy set in motion by Ozymandias to unite world nations in light of a false alien invasion which resulted in the destruction of New York City causing the death of millions. Boomstick: No worries he crushed that by sending his journal containing his findings to the press beforehand. Wiz: Well technically we really don't know what happened in the aftermath. We can only speculate. Boomstick: Anywho, aside from getting killed by an actual superhero, Rorschach is the scourge of the criminal underworld for a good reason. Any criminal or evildoer who crosses paths with him, you may as well pray for a quick death or he will make you suffer. Rorschach: None of you seem to understand. I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with ME! Interlude Wiz: Alright the combatants are set. Let's end this debate once and for all. Boomstick: It's time for a Death Battle!!! Death Battle Cue Watchmen - You Quit! It is night time in New York City, the skyscrapers touch the night sky. In the streets it is quiet, the streetlights illuminate the pavement as a man in a trench coat and hat walks the streets. Vic Sage walks on the sidewalks with an unknown objective in mind. He ends up in an alley, looking to each side to make sure no one has followed him. He enters and pulls out his mask before activating the binary gas on his belt. Not far away in a residential apartment complex, there are some screams and gunshots coming from inside as a group of people are attacked by an unknown assailant. A half-naked prostitute breaks through the door attempting to escape but a meat cleaver hits her in the back. She falls to the ground belly first and tries to drag herself away from the scene. The silhouette of a masked man in a trench coat and fedora paces out of the apartment towards his victim. He grabs the clever and starts chopping the women who tries to beg and scream for mercy, but they go unanswered. Rorschach: Scum like you deserve to die! Rorschach stops his slaughter to take deep breaths as he reviews the carnage. Question: How the mighty have fallen. Another figure approaches Rorschach from the shadows of the pitch black street. Rorschach faces this new arrival. Rorschach: I am giving them what they deserve. Question: I can understand your point, but this is not justice. Rorschach: What do you know about justice?! Out of the shadows, the Question reveals himself fully to his look-a-like. Question: Well I know that justice is about treating others with respect. We heroes are not judge, jury, and executioner. Rorschach: Maybe it should be that way. I have seen this cities true face, and they all must be punished fitting of the crime. Question: Walter Kovacs... Rorschach moves his head to the Question seemingly in annoyance to him knowing his former name. Rorschach: That man is dead, there is only Rorschach. Question: I am offering you to make amends, we can help you become the good man you once were. Rorschach: You think I'll go quietly, Victor Sage? I will not compromise to evil, no matter the cost. Question: That way of thinking may cost you dearly. I admire that, but I still have to take you in. Alive or dead. Both faceless vigilantes stand opposite each other as the street stays silent, and nothing but the street lights are illuminating the standoff. Fight! Cue Watchmen - Prison Fight Rorschach makes the first move by throwing the meat cleaver he had used to kill his newest victim. The silver blade spins towards the Question who dodges it at the last minute and blocks Rorschach's attempted clothesline. Both vigilantes get into a fist fight with Q blocking and dodging a majority of Rorschach's attacks. The more skilled vigilante counterattacks with a punch to the face which briefly dazes Rorschach and then proceeds to kick him into a nearby lamppost, slightly denting it. Question storms onto his opponent not giving him a chance to recover. Rorschach only barely holds his ground as he endures punch after punch. Rorschach counterattacks and gives Question a headbutt. This was enough to stagger Q as Rorschach changes strategies and runs back towards the complex he emerged from. Question follows just a few seconds later. Rorschach in at the base of a boxed staircase, he looks behind as the Question enters the door. He pulls out his grappling gun and shots it at the level above him. With his, he is pulled up by the hook as it brings him to the 2nd floor. Question stops where Rorschach was a second ago and looks up only seeing the tip of Rorschach's trench coat disappear. Having no other choice he sprints up the stairs as fast as he possibly can. He makes it up, but see's no sign of his opponent. The detective looks around cautiously, he notices several of the deceased that Rorschach had previously killed. Question however see's some new trail of destruction not made by the struggle and cautiously follows it to a master bedroom. As Q starts entering the door he is surprised by Rorschach who smashes his head in with a vase. Glass shatters across the room and Q is briefly dazed and has no time to recover as Rorschach follows with a right hook bringing Question down to his knees. The more veteran vigilante's advantage is short lived as Q returns the favor by punching him in the stomach. Rorschach staggers back from the blow and barely has time to react as Q kicks him again in the stomach with enough for to send him flying back a few feet. Rorschach rolls backward from the attack to recover and quickly draws out his grapple gun and shoots it. The harpoon like weapon pierces his opponent's shoulder, sending a sizable geyser of blood. Q grunts in pain, but Rorschach pulls the cable towards him forcing Vic to run towards him. With that Rorschach clotheslines him and send Q square on his back making him grunt in even more pain. Rorschach then puts his hands around Question's neck, attempting to choke him out. Both struggle for a couple seconds until Q headbutts Rorschach which loosens his grip and punches him multiple times in the face until he is forced let go and reel back. Question quickly takes the grapple out of his shoulder and gets right back up to his feet. Noticing that their curfuffle had brought them to one of the many full body windows of the apartment, Vic seizes his chance to end the fight quickly. Without giving Rorschach a chance to counterattack, Vic tackles him sending them both out of the window breaking some glass along the way. Both were in the air for what felt like minutes but in reality, it was only a couple of seconds. Both landed onto the hard concrete below, where Q briefly blacked out. Vic Sage's vision came back into full view. It felt like every bone in his body broke, but it was only thanks to his training that he pushed past the pain and gets himself off of his human cushion. Question observed his target, who is less fortunate. Question bents down to his opponent. Question: You are more resilient than you look, but there is no way you will walk off that fall. Unexpectedly Rorschach quickly grabs his trench coat with one hand, indicating that he still has some fight in him. Rorschach: We are not done yet! Question: Quite the contrary. Question grabs Rorschach's arm and snaps it, causing Rorschach to cry bloody murder. He lets the disabled arm fall to the ground. Cue Watchmen - The Last Laugh Question: I had hoped it would not have ended like this, Mr. Kovacs. But taking you in will do more harm than good. Rorschach: What are going to do then? Kill me? Question: It is the only cure for this disease. Rorschach: Hehe, you would throw away your so-called justice for that? That proves you and I are no different. Question: Perhaps, but it is necessary. Murderers like you are irredeemable. You became as ruthless as the very people you fought against. You are only a former shell of a man... Q reaches for Rorschach's face. Question: You do not deserve this mask! Question starts peeling off Rorschach's mask as the normally stoic vigilante screams for mercy. Rorschach: NOOO!!!! MY FACE!! GIVE ME BACK MY FACE!!! Question holds the mask in his hand as he watches his victim's despair and he pulls something out of his coat pocket with his other hand. Question: I take no pleasure in this, but as you said before. The punishment must be fitting to the crime. Question opens up his matchbox and lights a match. Rorschach's eyes widen as he realizes what he's doing, but is too crippled to move let alone escape. Question: If there is a god, I hope you can find forgiveness. Vic Sage flips the still ignited match in the air, landing on Rorschach's trench coat and slowly ignites in flames. Slowly Rorschach is consumed by flames as he screams in agonizing pain. Question watches for a little while before he throws the mask he was still holding in his hands into the inferno and walks off into the deserted streets of New York City. KO!!! Question walks in the streets like nothing happened while scaring a drunk bum along the way and the corpse of Rorschach continues burning. Results Cue Justice League Unlimited - Theme Song Boomstick: Well that took a dark turn. By the way, does anyone have any marshmallows? Wiz: I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Anyway, Rorschach may have been the more vicious fighter of the two, but The Question outclassed him in every other category. Boomstick: Ya Rorschach may be intimidating as hell, but like that really matters to someone who is stronger, faster, and more skilled than he is. Wiz: For example not only was Rorschach overwhelmed and taken into custody by a squad of Police officers, he was easily overpowered and bested by fellow hero Ozymandias who for all intents and purposes is a better comparison to Batman then Rorschach is. Boomstick: Besides being a billionaire and the smartest individual on the entire planet, he is fast enough to catch a bullet, and even destroy bricks with his bare hands. Wiz: By contrast, Victor is able to hold his own against opponents who are as strong, if not stronger than Ozymandias. Boomstick: In addition to that he learned techniques from Richard Dragon that allow him to ignore pain which means he can pretty much shrug off anything Rorschach could possibly throw at him. Wiz: The difference in their combat experiences is also pretty clear-cut. Question lives in a world where encountering Metahumans are as average as a walk in the park and he has survived blows from those stronger than himself. Boomstick: Rorschach pretty much lives in a more realistic setting where he fights average criminals and the occasional serial killer and supervillain. The only superpowered being that exists is Doctor Manhattan, who's pretty much God! Wiz: The Question is even the better detective, making it no problem for him to find Rorschach. Even if Question was forced on the defensive he can still get the jump on Rorschach. Boomstick: The dude's presence went unnoticed by Nightwing, who is stealthy enough to pull a Batman on Batman himself. Heck Q most likely never even needed to use his fancy shaman magic to defeat Rorschach. Wiz: The only thing Rorschach could do was buy himself time, but in the long run The Question proved to be too much for the veteran crime fighter to handle. This is the case where the original is the best. Boomstick: I don't think Rorschach will recover from that burn! Wiz: The winner is The Question Comparison The Question * +Proper martial artist * +Higher pain tolerance * +Stronger and faster * +Skilled shaman * +Experienced in fighting other martial artists and meta-humans * +More aware of his surroundings Rorschach * +More experienced crime fighter * +Better reach with grapple gun * +More vicious fighter * +Tactical genius Preview Boomstick: Next time on Death Battle!! Category:What-If? Death Battles Category:'Company' themed Death Battles Category:'Vigilantes' themed Death Battles Category:'Original vs Homage/Rip-Off' Themed Death Battles Category:'Comic Books' Themed Death Battles Category:'Hero vs. Anti-Hero' themed Death Battles Category:Anti Hero themed Death Battles Category:Battle of Wits Themed Death Battles Category:Death Battles under construction for 1 year Category:Death Battles under construction for 2 years Category:CyberDragon001 Category:Completed What-If? 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